When glancing at some fantasy rankings today, I couldn't help but notice how awful a few teams look at running back entering Week One. In my days of playing fantasy football, I can't ever remember this many teams being so thin at that position to begin a season. Here are my five worst backfields heading into 2008.

5. BEARS — Matt Forté, Kevin Jones, Adrian Peterson
I'll give the Bears some benefit of the doubt since we don't yet know what the rookie Forté will bring to the table when it counts. But still, this is not a backfield I'd be very confident in, especially given how often they're going to be called upon. Forté played his college ball in Conference USA, not exactly known as a hotbed for quality defenders. If the second-round pick can't make the impact the Bears need him to, they'll have to turn to Jones, who hasn't been a big contributor since 2004. Plus, he's had lots of problems staying healthy and is coming back from ACL surgery. And if Chicago is forced to give Peterson a major role, then the club is really in trouble.

4. BRONCOS — Selvin Young, Andre Hall, Michael Pittman
Denver has always found a way to survive a lack of RB talent, but it could be difficult this season. When your clear-cut No. 1 guy is an undrafted, undersized second-year player who scored only one TD as a rookie, you know you're playing with fire. Sure, Young's 5.2 yards per carry in '07 was nice, but how is he going to hold up to a full season's worth of pounding? Young definitely will make a fantasy impact, but the Broncos can't feel too safe having him as their lead dog. And if he goes down, who takes over then? Hall, another undrafted guy who has just 44 career carries, or Pittman, a 33-year-old who hasn't had a full workload since '04? Not a very deep group, I'd say. At least they have the injured Ryan Torain coming back later this season.

3. LIONS — Kevin Smith, Tatum Bell, Marcus Thomas
The Lions might have found themselves a good one in the rookie Smith, but what if they didn't? Detroit left itself no safety net by keeping only Smith and Bell, either cutting their remaining backs or putting them on IR. Now they'll be asking a third-round pick to be their workhorse, and they're not exactly giving him the best O-line to run behind. Smith also is coming off a junior season in which he carried the ball a whopping 450 times, so there's a good chance he could wear down at some point this year. If he does, the Lions will have to rely on Bell, in which case they probably wouldn't be running the ball very often. Bell had an awful '07 season, and by this point it's clear that he's not an every-down back. The team made a nice pickup Sunday by signing the rookie Thomas, who had been cut by the Chargers, but I fully expect Detroit to add another proven back (Rudi Johnson, maybe?) before their opener.

2. TEXANS — Ahman Green, Steve Slaton, Chris Taylor
By placing Chris Brown (back) on IR, Houston is putting a lot of faith in Green to stay healthy this season. Unfortunately for them, that's about as likely as me cheering for Notre Dame. Green injured his groin in the first preseason contest and hasn't practiced since, though the team expects him to play in Week One. Even if the aging rusher is on the field Sept. 7, the odds of him getting hurt again are very high. That would mean some sort of timeshare between Slaton and Taylor, which wouldn't strike fear into many opponents. The rookie Slaton has good speed and has peformed well in the preseason, but he looks like more of an NFL change-of-pace back than a bellcow. Taylor, meanwhile, can be a big bruiser inside, but a short-yardage role seems to be his best fit. Maybe newly hired O-line guru Alex Gibbs can make this work, but it certainly won't be easy.

1. BENGALS — Chris Perry, Kenny Watson, DeDe Dorsey
And the award for the worst backfield goes to — the Bengals! When Cincy released Rudi Johnson on Saturday, they in turn put an enormous amount of responsibility on the shoulders of Perry, who may not be able to handle it. In his three years in the league, Perry has played in more than six games just once, and he's never rushed for a TD. Numerous injuries have kept him sidelined for a large chunk of his pro career, and a much bigger role puts him at risk to get hurt again. If he does, the Bengals at least have a decent backup in the 30-year-old Watson, who had 1,137 yards from scrimmage and seven TDs in '07. Given Perry's injury history and Dorsey's inexperience, Watson could wind up being their most important back this season. Bengals fans just better hope that he wasn't a one-year wonder.